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Waibai Buka - Cameroon

“I remember the moment I used the internet the first time. It was in January 2017, before that I didn’t even know what the internet was. Waibai Buka, 12, discovered the existence of internet at her new school. As 50% of her classmates, Waibai had to flee her village after an attack by Boko Haram. “They attacked at night, we were sleeping, and they killed people and burned their houses,” she says. She ran with her mother, but her father could not make it.

In a region with extremely low internet penetration, Baigai Public School is exceptional – it has internet access thanks to a solar-powered satellite unit providing internet connectivity within a 500 meters radius. Waibai uses the school tablet to look up information online. The app she prefers is Wikipedia.

“Before, when I was facing a difficult word, I would ask my teacher for the definition. But it was not like with the tablet, because the tablets give you the full explanation,” she says. “I became so good at it that I now teach other children how to use this technology. I think that we are lucky to have it,” adds Waibai. “I want to become a school director when I grow up,” she says. “I want to give tablets to children and teach them how to use them and with what I am learning every day on my tablet, I am sure it can become a reality.” So do we. #SheisWe.

She is We

She is We

She is We

"She is We" shows that when women are empowered, protected, trusted and invested in, there are benefits for all of us. The campaign emphasizes striking stories of people everywhere in the world, and engages renowned personalities, activists, and members of the development community. This campaign is organized by EuropeAid for the European Development Days – a global forum focusing this year on "Women and Girls at the Forefront of Sustainable Development" to promote a safer, more inclusive and open world for women.